Eternity
by starletlaur
Summary: This is in reply to Livia's challenge at MGSG in which Gio is placed in one of many settings. I used a classic story as inspiration for this, hope you like. I'm sorry for the title, I couldn't think of something to fit the story's mood or content.


'Betty, are you here?' Gio called into the frozen night air. 'Betty, where are you?'

The night was dark as coal, a low mist hung low around the grassy moors, the moonlight casting a subdued glow upon the ancient stones. He looked at them in wonderment, something so old placed sporadically among the vastness of the British countryside. How did they get there? He knew that would remain a mystery forever. He pulled his coat closer to his body and made his approach closer to the stones. Becoming even more anxious he called out once more.

'Betty, please, are you out there?'

He meandered his way through the stones so that he stood within their circle. It was truly amazing, he felt quite small among their grandeur. Then across the clearing, stepping out from behind one of the stones, his eyes became acquainted with a small figure. Under the twilight sky she looked almost ghostlike, an apparition emerging unexpectedly from within the darkness.

'Gio' her voice was small, an almost whisper which seemed to echo in the air. He could sense the frightened tone. That's when he ran to her. He ran and grabbed hold of her, encircling her within his embrace. He placed his hand to the back of her head, trying to comfort her as he caressed her soft and unruly hair. She sobbed. After a few moments she drew away and looked him in the eyes, her own filled with sorrow, confusion and fright. He was scared, unsure of what to think, what to say or do. What had she done?

A few days before he had a received a call whilst at work, the operator announcing that there was an incoming call from the United Kingdom and asking if he wished to take it. Of course he had agreed. He knew it would be from her, as he had no other connection to the small island. She was there on a vacation with him, Matt. He had seen it on her Facebook page on one of his daily rituals of being curious of her wellbeing. He wasn't going to admit that he had kind of felt sick with jealousy when he had seen her gushing status update. She could go to England with him, Matt but not to Rome with himself. He had been wary, but after hearing her voice, her panicked tone, he had to go to her, he had to be her protector once more. Oh hated himself for giving in so easily, but she had the gift of being able to draw him into her as much as he tried to resist. So he had booked the earliest flight he could and made his way to the Wiltshire countryside. He was not however prepared for what he was about to hear.

'G..Gio…I…I…' her voice cracked, as she tried to bring herself to say the words. He took hold of her hands, he had to let her know he was there, that she could tell him anything no matter how bad it was.

'Go on Betty' he soothingly encouraged. She inhaled a deep breath, mustering up the courage to reveal her crime.

'Gio, I killed him. I killed Matt.'

Silence hung in the air, both just staring into each other's eyes. He blinked, unable to believe that Betty, his Betty was capable of such an action. He went to speak but stopped himself, instead he cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable that he had nothing to say. Instead the silence was soon filled with Betty's rushed speech as she explained what had happened.

'We were, we went out for the night to a small pub in the village and had a few drinks. I soon became tired and headed back on my own. I insisted that Matt stay there for a while longer, as we had gotten talking to a couple and the guy was also going to stay while his wife went home. I went back to the hotel, had a bath and got into bed. Quite a few hours later, I must have drifted off to sleep waiting for him and he returned. I woke up to find him towering above me, pulling his shirt from his arms. I woke up and suddenly realised that he wanted to…to…' she suddenly felt uncomfortable, aware of revealing something intimate to the man she had once turned down, once treated so badly. 'Well it was obvious that he wanted to _make love _and I didn't want that. I told him no, but he just insisted that we would have a good time and lunged at me, kissing me roughly. I pulled away, well at least tried to, but he pinned me down, insisting that I should do it, kind of insinuating that I owed him in some way, perhaps because of him treating me to the vacation. I pleaded, I begged, yet his weight was so heavy I couldn't move. He started to remove his pants, I screamed but he placed his hand firmly over my mouth'

'That son of a bitch!' Gio cried out.

'And that's when, that's when I reached out and grabbed what I could and smashed him over the head. It was all over in a moment, a flash of a second. His body slumped over mine, his eyes rolled back. I worked my way from underneath him and dropped the steel ornament to the ground. I then felt for a pulse. There…there…there wasn't one! And that's when I ran.' Upon finishing her story, she fell to her knees and sobbed once more.

'Oh god! I killed him! Oh my god! I'm a murderer!' Gio fell to be next to her, taking her in his arms once more.

'It won't be long 'til they find me. They'll get me, and that'll be it. I'll be put in jail and that'll be the end of my life.'

'Betty, it was self defence. We'll plead and make them see that you were acting out to stop him from violating you-'

'Gio, come on.' she replied, breaking away from his embrace. 'It would just be my word against the evidence of a dead body. That is extremely unlikely.'

There was silence once more.

Then she whispered, 'They're coming to get me.' Her eyes possessed such horror and her lip started to quiver. And then, their lips were crashing together, a kiss filled with abandonment, as their lust, passion and love for each other took over their entire beings. They had to have their moment before it was too late. As they started to peel the clothes from each other, words escaped from her as they continued to kiss.

'Oh Gio'…'I'm so sorry'…'I'm sorry'…'I love you'…

He reacted by kissing her deeper, their tongues dancing together in unison. And there, under the moonlit sky they pronounced their love for one another, their love intensified by time slipping from underneath them. That this was their only chance, their only time to be as one.

Later as they lay entwined upon one of the beige stones, he traced a pattern along her arm as she pulled him ever closer. The sky was slowly turning from black to grey, as a new day was being born. It was nearly the end.

'Betty, I know you love your English Literature, but you didn't have to go as far as to re-enact one.' He was trying to lighten the mood, he felt her shift slightly in his arms.

'Oh Gio, then you are clearly my Angel. I'm so sorry that we didn't have the time together that we should have.'

He closed his eyes, and felt the contentment rush through his body at holding her close to him. This was a feeling he would capture and place within his heart forever more. And then, from the distance, torch lights shone in their direction. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it gently, as he felt her stiffen next to him.

'Its going to be ok Betty, you are strong, you'll get through this'

And as the policemen arrived before them, she stood up and let them place her arms behind her back. She looked pleadingly into Gio's eyes, as they marched her away towards the green wxpanse of the fields. Gio could only sit and watch as they led is love away from him, and that's when it was his turn to sob. As he sat there among the ancient stones, his world crashing down around him, the morning birds began to sing. Their cheerful song seemed at first to somehow laugh at him, yet the longer he sat there the more it seemed to say that somehow everything would be ok. That in time, he would be able to pull himself through losing her.

Finally he pulled himself up, gathered the remainder of his scattered clothing and made his way from Stonehenge. As he looked back one last time. the stones shimmered under the early morning sun. Their existence became even more poignant, as another tragedy had become etched within them, to remain for an eternity.


End file.
